22nd October 2010 New York, USA

Promoting BritishAmerican business & inspirational work in Iraq

The

British

Consulate-General hosted a gallery of academic talent

this

week as the UK-US Higher Education Summit met at New York University.

The aim of

the summit is to promote closer cooperation between institutions on both

sides of the Atlantic; with the US

and UK universities world

leaders in their field, while

also meeting universities in emerging

economies.


Ambassador Nigel

Sheinwald engaged business leaders in New York this week, part of our

drive to

promote the UK as a great place to do business. He spoke at the

Transatlantic Business Awards Dinner, an

annual gala event which is

attended by over 500 senior business

executives from both sides of the pond.

 

Ambassador Louis

Susman, US Ambassador to the UK, was also in New York this week,

speaking

to BritishAmerican Business; and to the Atlantic Partnership

I’d

like to send my

congratulations to Reverend Canon Andrew White, vicar of

St

George’s Church in Baghdad, on

being awarded the Train Foundation’s

Civil Courage prize for his work in Iraq. 

Listening to Canon

White speak about his work in Iraq  brings

back memories for me of my own service in Basra a few years ago. As the Chief Executive of the

Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle

East, Canon White’s commitment to Baghdad and

its people is striking.  

 

We’re preparing now to help

promote the UK in the

run-up to the London Olympics in 2012. Our colleagues in Visit Britain

are

spreading the word that the UK is a great place to visit (any time, but

especially in 2012),

and we want to use the unique opportunity provided by the

Olympics

to show New York that the UK is dynamic, modern and vibrant. If you’d

like to work with us on that, please drop a line to our public affairs

mailbox.

About Dominic Meiklejohn

I was born in Woking, outside London, in 1967 and attended Merton College, Oxford University, graduating in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. After university, I worked for HM Customs and Excise…

I was born in Woking, outside London, in 1967 and attended Merton College, Oxford University, graduating in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

After university, I worked for HM Customs and Excise before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1990. After working for the European Community Department, I learned Polish and began a posting at the British Embassy Warsaw, where I headed the British Know How Fund for Poland (1993-96). In 1997, I worked for the OSCE Mission in Albania, before heading up the India team in the South Asian Department of the FCO. In 2000, I was posted as First Secretary to the British Embassy Warsaw, with a particular focus on European Union issues in the run-up to Poland’s accession to the EU. In 2003, I returned to the UK as Deputy Head of the Environment Policy Department. From 2004-2005, I led the FCO’s Knowledge Management Programme. During this period, I led two deployments of the FCO’s Consular Rapid Deployment Team– to Sri Lanka, after the tsunami in 2004 and to Pakistan, after the earthquake in 2005. From 2006-2007, I served as Deputy Consul-General, Basra, Iraq. From June 2007 I worked with the FCO’s Change Unit.

I took up my current appointment on 22 January 2008. My wife Joanne and I are the proud parents of Olivia. Outside of the office, I cycle around Manhattan, play soccer (football) and, when parenting duties allow, enjoy the cultural riches offered by New York. I try hard to understand baseball.